Karnataka Election Result LIVE updates: BJP forged ahead leading
in 107 seats while the ruling Congress was leading in 67 constituencies
today in the Karnataka Assembly polls, according to initial trends.
JD(S) was leading in forty five seats, more than an hour after counting
of votes. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was ahead in the Badami
assembly constituency in north Karnataka, but trailing in
Chamundeshwari in his home town Mysuru by over 11,000 votes
against his main rival G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S). The BJP's chief
ministerial candidate, B S Yeddyurappa, was ahead in Shikaripura, and
JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara. Prominent
among those trailing include ministers Ramamnatha Rai from Bantwal
and H C Mahadevappa from T Narasipura, the sources said. Senior
BJP leader K S Eshwarappa from Shivamogga, senior most candidate
in the electoral fray and minister Kagodu Timmappa from Sagara and
the chief minister's son, Yatindra, from Varuna were also leading over
their rivals.
Karnataka election has been billed as the biggest political battle of
2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party 's(BJP's) bid to reclaim the state has

faced its toughest challenge from one man - chief minister
Siddaramaiah, who looks to beat incumbency. Who will Karnataka
pick? The voters have decided and the entire nation will know the
Karnataka election 2018 result today.
Meanwhile, four of the seven polling agencies predicted in their exit
polls that the BJP would emerge the single-largest party today. While
most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two
said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark
of 112 seats, while the India Today-Axis exit poll said the Congress
might bag a majority. All exit polls gave the H D Deve Gowda led
Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more, which could make
it the kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.
A win for the Congress would boost the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s morale for the
Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and
Mizoram in November-December, and for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
It would also ensure that the party would not be reduced to ruling only
one big state, Punjab, in the entire country. Apart from Punjab, the
Congress has governments in only Puducherry and Mizoram.
No government in Karnataka since the Ramakrishna Hegde-led Janata
Party in 1985 has been re-elected.
Satta bazaar bets big on BJP: The satta bazaar is shortening the odds
on a BJP win in Karnataka, even though a third party may eventually
feature in the victorious combine. According to ET, bookies expect the
BJP to win 96-98 seats in the Karnataka Assembly, while the Congress
may get 85-87 seats. In market parlance, this means bid price is 96 or
85, while the ask price is 98 or 87.
Read More: Karnataka Election Results